Serum Institute Rolls Out New High Efficacy Malaria Vaccine In Africa

A new high-quality malaria vaccine developed by the Serum Institute of India and the University of Oxford is officially being rolled out in Africa. With this, Côte d’Ivoire has become the first country in West Africa to start administering R21/Matrix-M.

Approved by the World Health Organization (WHO)

The R21/Matrix-M vaccine was approved by the World Health Organization (WHO) last year after passing a rigorous regulatory process and clinical evaluation, and was found to be highly effective and affordable. The low-dose vaccine can be produced quickly and at scale, which could be a significant breakthrough in curbing the spread of the mosquito-borne disease.

Possible to reduce the burden of malaria

Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla said that it is now finally possible to reduce the burden of malaria. Today’s launch of the R21 / Matrix-M vaccine roll-out is a milestone after years of incredible work with our partners at Oxford and Novavax.

Committed to produce 100 million doses of vaccine’

Adar Poonawalla further said that at Serum, we believe that it is every person’s right to have access to affordable and essential disease prevention. That is why we have committed to produce 100 million doses of R21, which will protect millions of people and reduce the burden of this deadly disease for future generations. Let us tell you that till now, Serum Institute of India has manufactured 25 million doses with a capacity of 100 million doses annually.

The beginning of a new era in malaria control

Professor Adrian Hill, Director of the Jenner Institute at Oxford University, said the roll-out of the R21/Matrix-M malaria vaccine marks the beginning of a new era in malaria control interventions, with a high efficacy vaccine now accessible at a modest cost and at a very large scale for many countries in greatest need. We hope that this vaccine can very soon be made available to all African countries that wish to use it.

Africa received a total of 656,600 doses

According to Novavax President and CEO John C. Jacobs, the R21 / Matrix-M vaccine is an important weapon to help prevent the devastating and economic impact of malaria on nearly half the world’s population. According to the information, Africa has received a total of 656,600 doses of R21 / Matrix-M. Initially, 250,000 children between 23 months will be vaccinated in 16 regions of Côte d’Ivoire. The R21 / Matrix-M vaccine has also been authorized by Ghana, Nigeria, Burkina Faso and the Central African Republic.